


the correlation of salvation and love

by elegantidler



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: (Ed), M/M, Missing Scene, Season 2, Trans Character, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 13:24:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14749688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elegantidler/pseuds/elegantidler
Summary: Oswald comes back to Ed's apartment after killing Galavan to say goodbye.





	the correlation of salvation and love

**Author's Note:**

> This is half from a quilt related request from irisbleufic and half from a conversation with Bren. Even though it does feature the quilt heavily, it doesn't exist in the same story line as the other quilt drabbles.

Ed is pacing around his apartment, too restless, too anxious to sit still.

Oswald has been gone for hours and hours and with every passing minute Ed’s brain supplies him with a new way in which the whole plan could have gone horribly wrong.

What if Oswald is hurt somewhere?

What if he’s alone?

What if he’s—

No.

He can’t dwell on that.

Oswald is coming back.

He _has to_ come back.

(This apartment is too big without him now.)

(It’s not _home_ without him.)

No one has ever treated Ed the way Oswald treats him.

No one has ever told him their secrets, or listened while he told his.

No one has ever sang while he played the piano.

No one has ever really been his friend.

Ed can’t lose him.

Finally, _finally_ , he hears a key turning in the lock and Oswald is standing in the doorway, bathed in green light, eyes bright, head held proudly.

“I did it. I avenged my mother. Theo Galavan is dead.”

And then he sags against the doorframe, exhausted, and Ed rushes forward to catch him, hands on his elbows, pulling him inside the apartment to safety, to home.

Oswald is saying something but Ed is barely listening. Oswald has dropped his arms to his side and Ed’s hands have come to rest on the sliver of skin visible at his wrists, the smoothness of Oswald’s skin distracting him.

“—some fallout. I need to go into hiding for a bit.”

It takes several seconds for the true meaning of these words to hit Ed and then his stomach drops.

‘Hiding’ means not here.

Not with him.

He fixes his eyes on the floor near Oswald’s left foot and gently sweeps his thumbs over Oswald’s wrists, focusing on the feel of Oswald’s skin instead of the nausea and terror he feels in his stomach.

“I don’t want you to leave.”

And his voice is so small and so weak that he hates himself for needing Oswald this badly, for being this pathetic.

Oswald tugs one hand free of Ed’s grip and places his fingers gently under Ed’s chin, pulling his gaze up, and turns his other hand so their palms are pressed together, their finger intertwined.

“I don’t have to leave right now, I can stay tonight.”

And Ed knows this is stupid and reckless and may very well get them both arrested but he doesn’t care about any of that right now and all he can do is nod weakly.  

He can’t let Oswald leave without—

And then Oswald is kissing him deeply, desperately, and clumsily and Ed loses his train of thought and all that matters is kissing Oswald back just as deeply.

He faintly registers that Oswald is leaning heavily on him and some part of his brain manages to stay logical.

“Wait,” his breathing shallow.

Oswald nearly jumps back, and seems to shrink in on himself.

“Sorry. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have.”

Ed’s brain is still sluggish and it takes him a moment to respond correctly.

“No, no it’s not that, it’s just…your leg, we should…”

He can feel his face flush with heat and embarrassment as he gestures to his bed, but Oswald just nods eagerly.

They stumble towards toward the bed, still clinging to each other, Ed supporting Oswald, shedding layers as they go.

Oswald reaches the bed first and pushes Ed down onto it, fumbling with the buttons of Ed’s shirt and as he pulls it off Ed can feel the worn familiar fabric of his quilt on the bare skin of his back before Oswald starts trailing kisses down his chest, over his scars, down towards his waistband and he can’t focus on anything but Oswald’s lips, Oswald’s hands.

Oswald pauses and moves to lay beside Ed and catch his mouth in a kiss, one hand wandering along Ed’s waist.

“Can I…?”

“Y-yes. Please.”

His entire body is trembling with how much he wants Oswald and it’s hard to speak.

Oswald keeps kissing him, slow and deep, as his hand explores lower and Ed’s hips twitch and he gasps into Oswald’s mouth as Oswald presses two fingers inside him.

This is perfect.

And he isn’t going to last long. He can already feel his climax building and it’s only a matter of moments before he is seeing stars and clenching around Oswald, Oswald holding him and kissing him through it, preventing Ed from immediately turning away in shame at how quickly he came.

“S-sorry.” His voice and body still shaking.

“Shhh,” Oswald soothes.

“I wanted to last longer than that,” Ed says, his eyes squeezed shut.

“Ed, look at me, please.” Oswald pushes himself up to lean on his elbow until Ed opens one eye to look at him.

“You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. I love you, and I want you to enjoy this more than anything and you are perfect just the way you are.”

Ed opens his other eye, looking surprised.

“You love me?”

“Of course I love you.”

Ed grins widely. “I love you, too. In case you couldn’t tell.”

And with more confidence than he feels he leans forward, and now it’s Ed kissing Oswald deeply and Ed’s hand travelling down Oswald’s stomach towards his waistband.

“Your turn.”

* * *

Ed is drowsy and pliant and happy to let Oswald maneuver them into a more comfortable position after cleaning them up.

Oswald pulls Ed’s comforter and quilt over them and Ed curls into Oswald, resting his cheek on Oswald’s chest, arm resting across his belly.

Something about the situation strikes him and he huffs out a small laugh, breath ghosting over Oswald’s skin.

“What?” Oswald asks, absently stroking Ed’s arm.

“It’s just…if someone had told me, back when I was making this quilt, that one day I would be having sex on it with someone as beautiful and amazing as you I wouldn’t have believed them.”

Ed feels Oswald shift and then press a kiss into Ed’s hair.

“You’re beautiful and amazing too.”

Ed grins into Oswald’s chest and presses a kiss onto his breastbone before snuggling closer and letting sleep overtake him.

* * *

Oswald wakes just before dawn, the sky outside the windows beginning to lighten, the city starting to wake.

Ed is still asleep beside him, face relaxed and peaceful, partially pressed into Oswald’s shoulder, hair soft and messy.

Oswald could spend the rest of his life looking at that face, waking up beside this man, loving him.

He desperately wants to.

But right now he needs to protect him.

If Oswald waits until Ed is awake to say goodbye he will never have the strength to leave and he has to.

Even with Ed asleep this might be the hardest thing he’s ever had to do.

He wants so badly to wake Ed up and say goodbye, to tell him that he will come back, to kiss him one more time.

But instead, he gently disentangles himself and pulls the covers back over Ed.

Instead, he borrows one of Ed’s coats and a hat.

Instead, he leaves a note for Ed on his bedside table.

Instead, he takes one last look at the man he loves and hardens his heart.

Instead, he walks away and disappears into the Gotham morning.  

**Author's Note:**

> Bren made a [moodboard](http://greenygma.tumblr.com/post/176129757800/moodboard-for-the-correlation-of-salvation-and) for this! 
> 
> Title is from Anberlin's The Unwinding Cable Car (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5SBYhZyo1s)


End file.
